Material designs for handling the impact of an external stimulus, such as a blast or projectiles, include, for example, woven fabrics, ceramic materials, and composite systems. Kevlar®, Zylon®, Armos®, Spectra® are commercially available fabrics made from high-strength fibers. Another material is ballistic steel, which is comprised of hardened high tensile steel, woven into fiber form. Further, boron carbide can be used as a material, for example, in the production of body armor.
Ceramic materials, in particular ceramic metal composites have found utility in light weight body armor; for examples, the Blast-Tamer wall system from General Plastics Manufacturing Co. (Tacoma, Wash.). The system consists of engineered polyurethane foam panels tied together with adhesive joints and aramid fiber cord, with the space between the panels filled with sand.